


Under My Skin

by badgerling



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-19
Updated: 2012-02-19
Packaged: 2017-10-31 11:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/343518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badgerling/pseuds/badgerling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mission goes wonky, Daniel gets stuck in quarantine, and Jack tries to make the process easier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under My Skin

Something wasn't right.

Daniel knew that the second he opened his eyes and everything was blurry and gray. It took a second of groping around blindly for his glasses before finding them on the small table next to the bed, and it was only then that the room stopped being blurry. It was still gray, though, and Daniel knew that wasn't a good sign. His brain was a little slower to wake up than the rest of him, so it took longer than it should have for him to process that he was back at the SGC, in an observation room, and he could just barely see Jack's head in the actual observation booth.

Considering the last thing Daniel remembered was being two seconds from going through the gate with SG-1 on P6X-902, this was definitely not an ideal situation. He cleared his throat, hoping the sudden noise would get Jack's attention. Apparently his friend's head was down because he was asleep, not just because he was bored like Daniel had assumed.

"Jack," he said, immediately falling into a coughing fit because his throat felt raw. Like he'd been screaming for hours. Or swallowing glass. It was probably the coughing that finally got through to Jack, and he lifted his head, his eyebrows raising in what was probably surprise at the noise or the fact that Daniel was sitting up. Which only made Daniel worry a little bit more, mostly about why he was in observation in the first place, whether everyone else was okay, where everyone else _was_ because something had obviously happened.

Something horrible judging from Jack's expression. Daniel swallowed, preparing to speak again, but his throat was still raw, so he settled for spreading his hands slightly, asking all of those unvoiced questions in one gesture.

Jack reached over, turning the microphone on before saying, "There was an explosion." Which didn't make sense to Daniel since explosions usually came with pain. And burns. And other injuries in general, and aside from a sore throat, Daniel felt fine.

"And I'm in observation because...?" His voice sounded rough even to him, and he had to trail off, letting the lift of his eyebrows ask the rest of that question. His eyes narrowed just a little when he caught a faint smile on Jack's mouth. Suddenly he wasn't all that worried anymore, but he was suspicious.

Jack took a second to respond, mostly because Daniel could see he was trying to swallow back a laugh and keep his face straight all at the same time. Jack failed, a grin passing over his face quickly before fading away as he leaned into the microphone and said, "You were glowing."

"Glowing?" Daniel had the sudden urge to rub the bridge of his nose, but he kept his hands still at his side.

"Glowing," Jack replied, and Daniel didn't get the chance to continue that line of questioning before Jack reached over and flipped a switch in the booth. The observation room Daniel was in was plunged into complete darkness. Well. Almost complete darkness, because there was a definite purple glow coming from Daniel. Up close it was bright enough and stark enough that Daniel swore he could see the veins in his arms and hands. "We've got a betting pool on whether you're going to get superpowers or not. Carter's got money on invisibility, but I'm thinking Human Torch fire powers would really be more useful."

Daniel ignored Jack for the moment, turning his hands over to stare at his bright purple hands just before he flinched back when Jack turned the lights back on. "Jack. Why am I glowing?"

"Oh, you remember those really _awesome_ plants near the gate? The ones you said smelled like spices and really old and dusty tombs in really old and sandy countries?"

That urge to rub the bridge of his nose was back, but Daniel folded his hands in his lap instead. "That wasn't exactly how I phrased it, but yes. I remember."

Jack was back to looking positively gleeful. "Well, apparently, and I don't know this first hand, of course, but apparently, when they get ready to, uh, pollinate, they explode. You and Teal'c were the closest. You apparently inhaled some of the pollen. Spent the next five hours coughing and sneezing." Which explained the raw feeling in his throat. Not really the glowing. Or the whole not being in the infirmary thing.

"Is Teal'c okay?" Daniel could only assume that if the Jaffa had been in the same situation as Daniel, he would have been in the same room as him.

"Oh, he's fine. Frasier says that from what she can tell, you actually have to breathe the stuff in to start glowing. She had to give you a sedative once the coughing and the sneezing didn't let up when we got you through the gate." Well, that explained the unconscious parts, probably the lack of memory, and the lack of glasses. There was still one problem.

"Jack. Quarantine?" The raw feeling forced Daniel to keep his voice even, but he thought he should still get points for that, considering how much Jack was obviously enjoying this situation. And how much he was definitely avoiding telling Daniel the whole story.

"You were glowing." Daniel waited, knowing there had to be more to the story, but it wasn't forthcoming, so all Daniel could do was sigh, which got another smile from Jack, one he tried very hard to hide. "Frasier thought it might be something worse than pollen. So you're here in the hopes that the glowing is not some kind of weird symptom of a potential pandemic." The fact that Jack sounded amused and not worried, that Daniel wasn't currently surrounded by doctors, he could only assume that it wasn't some kind of disease.

"How long am I stuck here?" Daniel really wasn't looking forward to spending the next several days in quarantine while Jack sat in the observation room gleefully turning the lights on and off to check and see if Daniel was still glowing.

"Frasier's running some test to confirm you're not contagious. I assume she'll let you out of there once she's convinced every airman in the base isn't going to start glowing, but you know how she can get." Jack finished that sentence with a skeptical look, like he was still convinced that Janet made up at least half the reasons she ever kept anyone confined for medical attention. Daniel nodded slightly, frowning as he looked away from Jack and down at his own hands. He'd never been good at being idle, not completely. Give him a book, and he was happy to sit still for hours. Give him nothing, and he could already feel the need to move, to do _something_ creep in.

"Look, I'll go get the doctor, she can do her thing," Jack said, already standing up. He reached over to turn off the microphone but stopped. The sudden lack of movement made Daniel look up and actually focus on his friend again. "You need anything, Daniel?" For once Jack didn't sound amused, just concerned, and Daniel looked at him for a long moment.

"A book? The one on my desk? At least that will give me something to focus on while you sit there and turn the lights on and off." Daniel figured that was what Jack had been doing while Daniel was out, and he also knew Jack well enough to know he wasn't going to stop just because Daniel was conscious.

"I only did that once, Daniel," Jack replied. The 'while you were awake' part was implied and confirmed in the smile Jack once again tried to hide as he left the booth. Daniel settled back on the pillows and waited and tried to ignore the itching in his hands as he fought back the need to move.

By the time Janet came in, Daniel was fairly certain he was going to go crazy by the time they let him out. It had only been a couple of minutes, but Daniel had already counted the tiles in the ceiling, and he was considering starting on the tiles on the floor just to have something to keep his mind busy. Thankfully, the check-up that followed was distracting enough that time passed quicker than it had since being left alone. Blood was drawn, his eyes were checked, Janet took every possible sample she could. Unlike Jack, though, Daniel wasn't nearly as prone to complain about it.

"I'm going to run the blood, but aside from the one side effect, we haven't noticed anything adverse or alarming. If the blood test comes back clean, we can at least let you out of quarantine. You'll have to stay on base, though," Janet said, as she handed the samples off to one of her nurses. Daniel took a deep breath and nodded. As daunting as the prospect of not being able to leave the base was, at least he might get out of here and back to his own office. Or to a bed that didn't involve safety bars on the sides.

"Thanks," Daniel said, fully intending to say more, but the sound of Jack clearing his throat by the door interrupted them both. Jack gestured, asking for permission to enter. Whether he was asking Daniel or Janet, Jack didn't bother to clarify. Janet gave Daniel smile, squeezed his arm slightly before turning to face Jack.

"Try not to make him worse, Colonel." Her words were harsh, but her tone was teasing as she stepped around Jack and out the door. Jack frowned at her as she left the room before turning back to Daniel.

"She doesn't like me," he said as he passed two books over to Daniel. When Daniel ignored Jack and looked at them questioningly, Jack just sighed before sliding Janet's stool over so he could sit next to the bed. "There were two on your desk, and I'm not going to flip through them to find out which one you were reading last."

"You could have just picked one," Daniel said. It's not like it would have bothered him to reread something, or to pick up one book in the middle of reading another.

"Yes, but then you would have started pouting when you finished it, and I am not your servant fetching books whenever you're bored. I know how you get when you're sick, Daniel," Jack said evenly. He settled on the stool, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the edge of the bed. With his chin propped in his hands.

"I'm not sick, Jack," Daniel said, which wasn't a lie. He didn't feel sick. He just tended to glow when the lights were out. He glanced up from looking the two books over and tilted his head at Jack. "Are you actually going to sit there and watch me read?"

"Yes," Jack said with a very definite nod, right before he laughed softly and shook his head. "No, actually, I've got a debrief with Hammond in five minutes. I just wanted to make sure you really were fine."

"Janet says that if my blood work comes back back clean, I can go anywhere I want. Assuming anywhere I want is safely inside Cheyenne Mountain," Daniel said, giving Jack a tight-lipped smile. As much as he understood why he'd be stuck there, on base, for days if not weeks, it didn't really make Daniel all that happy. It was one things to stay at the SGC by choice, being forced to stay was probably going to drive him crazier faster.

"Well, that's good to hear!" Daniel could hear the false cheer in Jack's voice. He obviously still found the situation amusing, but Jack could pick up on his moods faster than anyone. Jack knew him well enough to know when Daniel wasn't happy. "And when you get out, we'll take some brisk walks around the mess hall and back to your office," he said, the sentence punctuated by a pat on the blanket covering Daniel's thigh. When the hand didn't immediately move away, Daniel stared at it for a beat before looking up at Jack. "I'm glad you're going to be okay," Jack said, before pulling his hand away and turning to head to the debriefing.

Daniel watched his friend walk out of the room, staring at the door afterward in confusion. After a second, he shook his head and tried to focus on the book in front of him. By the time Janet returned to tell him that his blood work was clean, Daniel was certain the combination of sitting in one place too long and his best friend moving between being annoying and caring was going to drive him just as crazy as sitting still would have.

Once he was given leave to go, he went to his office first. That didn't last long, though. The lights were low enough that he kept imagining that his body was glowing, despite the fact that, according to Janet, it only happened in complete darkness. And more importantly (he knew it wasn't really the most important or problematic thing that had happened, but he couldn't help himself), he kept thinking about Jack. About the teasing and the concern, things Daniel realized he'd been missing since descending.

And the hand on his thigh, even through a blanket. It was distracting, and Daniel knew he wasn't getting any work done. He settled for gathering up his translations and a few more books and heading back to his quarters. He spread the papers out on the small table in the room. He sat down, fully intending to actually do some work, especially since it seemed like he wasn't going to be going back to his apartment or offworld for awhile.

He gave up on that after writing the same translation for three different passages, and he sat back in his chair, pulled his glasses off, and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. "I have got to stop thinking about Jack," he muttered. Because he wasn't even dwelling on the glowing anymore. That, he reasoned, would go away in a couple of days. Hopefully.

But Jack... He was going to be a problem.

It had been easy to ignore before, when Jack started growing away from him and toward Sam. But now there was touching and behavior Daniel couldn't put a name to. He wasn't even sure he wanted to put a name to it. But thinking about it was starting to get in the way. Of work, of thinking clearly, of being a functioning member of society. That much was evident by the fact that he actually jumped when someone knocked on his door.

He slid his glasses back on, heading to the door. He tried to keep his face blank when he opened it to find Jack standing there carrying two take-out bags from O'Malley's, and Daniel could only blink at him for a moment. "Jack. You brought food."

"It's nice to see that the glowing hasn't really affected your ability to state the obvious," Jack said, another smile threatening to cross his face. He gestured with his head toward the room behind Daniel, and Daniel dutifully stepped aside.

"I wasn't expecting you or food, actually. It's a little surprising," Daniel replied, closing the door behind Jack. He stayed where he was, watching Jack move the books and papers off the table and over to the bed. He glanced up at Daniel as he pulled two plastic containers out of the bags, and Daniel hadn't even realized he was hungry until the smell hit him. Steaks, obviously, baked potatoes, both things he was suddenly craving.

"Mess hall's got crap on tonight, and I figured Frasier doesn't have or isn't willing to share any decent food that she has hoarded in the infirmary," Jack said as he set out real silverware next to their dishes, "So I improvised." Jack paused for a moment. "Actually, Carter improvised because I couldn't remember how you take your steak. Woman has a mind built for creepy memory recall. Sit," Jack said, making that last word an order. An order Daniel acknowledged with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Please."

That got Daniel moving, slipping into the chair and unfolding one of the paper napkins into his lap. Right before it really hit him what Jack had just said. He looked at him, head tilted as he studied his friend. "You just said please. You're up to something." Daniel canted his head briefly before adding, "Or I'm dying."

"Eat, Daniel," Jack said, lifting his eyebrows at Daniel as he reached into one of the bags and pulled out two bottles of beer, condensation forming on them already from being out of the freezer. Jack popped the top off of them, placing one next to Daniel's plate before taking a swig of his own and lifting the top off his plastic plate of food.

Daniel fully intended to say something else, but the smell of real food hit him again. Any hope of more in-depth conversation was lost in the food. It was almost like old times again. Back before the death, the distance, back when it was easier to laugh than anything else. It felt good, and the beer only helped a little bit. Daniel really couldn't explain why this all felt different, and he wasn't really sure he wanted to. Thinking about it too much would probably make him start second-guessing everything, and Daniel didn't want to do that.

He wanted to just enjoy a good meal, decent company, and for once not being poked and prodded every hour like clockwork. But Daniel was Daniel, and sometimes he couldn't shut his brain up even if he wanted to. He cleared his throat slightly, taking another drink of the beer he'd only halfway finished. He smiled a little, looking down at the beer bottle in his hands.

"Why did you stick around? And don't say it's because you were fascinated by the glowing. You could have gotten video if you wanted it," Daniel said, finally looking up from the bottle in his hands. Jack was watching him with a look on his face that Daniel didn't really know how to read. He wasn't entirely sure how long Jack had been looking at him, but for once, Daniel didn't smile and look away. He just met Jack's eyes.

So, in the end, it was Jack who looked away first, covering it with a laugh. He also didn't answer Daniel's question, instead packing away the containers and the bottles back into the bags to be thrown out later. Daniel remained at the table, watching Jack move without saying a word. Eventually Jack wouldn't be able to handle the silence, and he'd need to talk to fill it. Daniel was just hoping it would be to actually answer his question.

Once there was nothing left to pick up, once there was nothing left for Jack to do with his hands, only then did Jack turn to Daniel with a shrug. "You're my friend, you _were_ caught in an explosion, I was worried, Daniel, that's all." A logical answer, and one that Daniel was fully prepared to accept. Only he didn't really want to accept it, but Jack had the look on his face that usually meant he was going to be stubborn and deny everything.

Daniel was far too used to getting that expression.

Daniel coughed a little, finally getting up from his chair as he sat his still half-empty bottle of beer on the table. "Right. I just..." He looked at Jack, reconsidering what he was going to say as he shook his head. "I'm apparently not that good at saying thank you." He smiled as he stepped around Jack, reaching for the door knob. It was probably for the best if Jack left, if only to keep Daniel from doing something with those signals he'd misinterpreted.

Only he never got that. Jack's hand caught his wrist before he'd even touched the door. When Daniel looked up at Jack, he suddenly realized how close his friend was. Closer than Daniel remembered him being anyway, and he narrowed his eyes slightly as he tilted his head, trying to ask Jack what he was doing without actually saying the words.

Jack's thumb traced over the pulse point in Daniel's wrist, and he kicked himself for the way his pulse jumped in response to that touch. He licked his lips, not really noticing how dry they were until he did so, which only made him realize that his throat was dry too, and he wasn't even sure he could speak. Damn Jack and his distractions.

"You're welcome, Daniel," Jack said, his voice soft, and Daniel barely heard the words. He didn't miss the way Jack leaned in, and he could only blink in confusion. Well, and lean into the warm weight of Jack in front of him, which is why he didn't miss Jack's next words, still soft, but definitely teasing this time. "You glow brighter when you're blushing."

"What?" The fact that that was not what Daniel was expecting (he didn't actually _know_ what he had been expecting, actually) was what made him flinch back from Jack, removing his wrist from the other man's touch. He stared down at his hands which were, in fact, glowing a faint shade of purple that was still bright enough to be seen without turning out the lights. His sudden move backward did allow Jack to open the door without physically moving Daniel out of the way, and as he stepped out of the room, he reached over and turned off the lights.

"I hate you!" Daniel called out, his voice almost sing-song, just as the door closed behind Jack, leaving Daniel alone with the purple glow.

He heard Jack laugh through the door with an answering call of "No, you really don't," which only made Daniel frown as he stared at his glowing hands. He reached over to turn the lights back on as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.

"No, I really don't," he muttered, moving back to the bed and the pile of papers that Jack had sat there when he'd cleared the table off so they could eat. He moved everything back to the table and picked up one of the books again, but just as he opened it, he had to stop. His jaw clenched slightly as he looked at the door. "Oh, hell," he muttered. He had no doubt that Jack would use his knowledge of Daniel's new blush-to-glow ratio to his own advantage.

Probably in ways that Daniel would never live down.

He was only partially right in that regard. Technically, Jack didn't do anything. Or at least, didn't do anything that Daniel could call him on. Daniel had talked General Hammond into letting him sit in on the general mission briefings and debriefings that SG-1 went through. It was only fair since once Janet gave him the all clear, Daniel would be back in the field, and he needed to know what went on and just how his team fared with whichever scientist was new enough not to know better about accepting temporary positions on the front-line team.

He had dreaded that first briefing, certain that Jack would say or do something off-color just to see how bright he could make Daniel glow. When that hadn't happened, when Jack just flashed a grin in his direction before heading into Hammond's office for the more detailed debrief that would actually be filed with the Pentagon, Daniel was left wondering when the other shoe would drop.

Daniel wasn't really sure if he had just wound himself up waiting for Jack to do something or if he was just that sensitive because of the pollen or because of Jack. All it took during the second mission briefing was Jack reaching down to scratch his own knee before slowly drawing his hand back, making sure that it ran along the outside of Daniel's thigh. That got another glowing blush, a concerned "Doctor Jackson?" from Hammond, and a tense "It's fine," from Daniel as he narrowed his eyes at Jack.

Jack, of course, just widened his eyes, trying to look innocent. Daniel didn't buy it, and judging from the definitely unladylike snort from Sam and the put-upon sigh from Hammond, neither did anyone else.

For the next couple of weeks, everything went on exactly like that. No overt embarrassing statements, just casual touches in briefing room, sly looks just before Jack went through the gate without him, standing too close to him in the mess hall line, and it wasn't like Daniel could tell him to stop. Jack usually had people around him whenever Daniel saw him, and when he didn't, he always made sure that he had somewhere else he needed to be. Daniel just had to spend every day glowing like walking night light.

Four weeks in, though, and Daniel finally noticed a change. Each time Jack did whatever it was he'd decided to do to Daniel today, whatever innocent thing Daniel was sometimes sure he was just overthinking, the glow got a little dimmer. It took another two weeks before the glow was gone completely. At which point, Daniel really did hug Janet when she actually gave him leave to get off the base and go back home.

One shower and a change of clothes later, and Daniel was right back where he'd started. Only in his own place, instead of that cramped little room at the SGC. He found himself reading the same words over and over again, pacing the length of his living room, down the hallway, and thinking about Jack, something that much like his friend's behavior over the past month, had gone from attractive to annoying and back again like a yo-yo.

The difference was that now, he wasn't forced to stay in one place. He wasn't confined to his room or the sterile halls of the base, and before Daniel had really even processed the thought, he was in his car, driving across Colorado Springs toward Jack's house. There was, of course, always the chance that Jack was still on base, but Daniel got lucky. He pulled into Jack's driveway behind his truck, and shortly after turning the engine off, Daniel remained where he was.

It would probably end better if he simply turned around and went back home. He also knew that that wouldn't solve any problems, and more than likely he'd find himself in the same distracted state regardless, and it would probably get worse once he was back in the field with the team. And with Jack. Of course, actually saying anything about what had happened, all the touches, the looks, the closeness, that would make it awkward too. Whether he was wrong about it all or not.

It was a lose-lose situation, honestly. Either he didn't say anything, and things were awkward because he couldn't stop thinking about his best friend in a way that was definitely not just friendly. Or he said something, got shot down, and needed to resign or transfer or something. Of course, lose-lose meant he actually had _nothing_ to lose since it was going to go badly either way, and Daniel finally just sighed, pulling the key out of the ignition a little faster than he should have.

He practically slammed the door behind him as he started up the walkway toward Jack's front door. When the door opened, Daniel wanted to stop and ask if Jack had been watching him or if it had been the noise. Talking would probably make him lose his nerve, though, and Daniel knew he had a kind of momentum going at this point. He didn't even say hi.

Daniel's hands touched Jack's shoulders, using that grip and his own movements forward to push Jack back through the door. Idly, Daniel thought that he should at least ask, but then Jack himself had always said it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission, and that was the thought that Daniel held onto as he pushed Jack back against the wall. He took a chance, looking up in the dim light from the porchlight to meet Jack's eyes just before he pressed his mouth to his friend's.

It was just as awkward as Daniel was afraid it would be. That wasn't surprising. He had caught them both off-guard. So of course it was awkward, but the warm press of Jack's body against his made it worth it. That feeling only lasted for a second before he felt Jack's hand bunch in the fabric of his shirt, using that hold on his side to push Daniel back and off of him.

His lips were still tingling as he managed to muttered, "Shit," and did his best not to press his hand against his mouth, either to wipe away the taste of Jack O'Neill or to make sure he could still taste him, right there, every time he touched his tongue to his lips.

"Stop that," Jack said immediately, and Daniel stiffened under his hand, starting to back away through the door he'd only just noticed was still wide open. Jack didn't let him go, though, his hand tightening in Daniel's shirt and practically holding him in place. "The tongue thing, Daniel. Stop it." That wasn't really what Daniel had been expecting, not after being pushed away. He glanced down at Jack's hand, then back up at the man himself.

His eyes narrowed with both confusion and suspicion as Jack kept one hand on Daniel while he stepped a little to the side and placed the beer he'd been hold in his other hand on the small table in the foyer. Daniel followed that movement, still trying to catch his breath and actually saying _something_. He focused on the beer, though, and that was why he missed Jack's free hand coming up to press against the back of his neck.

That was startling because the beer had obviously been cold, and Jack's hand was just as cold, cold enough that goose-bumps started forming from his neck down. That didn't last long either, only a very brief second before Jack used both of his hands to pull Daniel forward again and into another kiss. A better one this time, possibly because Jack actually knew what was happening and because Daniel knew it was wanted. They weren't flying blind anymore.

Daniel's arms wrapped around Jack's waist, pulling himself closer to Jack and Jack closer to him so that there wasn't even air between them. He felt Jack's fingers curl in his hair, his thumb stroking the skin just behind Daniel's ear. When the kiss ended this time, it was on both of their terms. Daniel, mostly because he still hadn't caught his breath from the near rejection earlier and because his glasses were starting to fog up.

Jack stepped back, his hand coming out of Daniel's hair and taking hold of his hand. Their fingers laced together easily, and Daniel had to duck his head and clear his throat just to cover a smile.

"We're going to need to talk, aren't we?" Jack said as he reached over and took his beer in his other hand before leading Daniel over to the couch.

"Probably for at least a couple of hours," Daniel replied, taking a seat on the couch and not even protesting when Jack sat next to him, a little too close with their legs touching.

"Are you sure we can't just take advantage of the whole sex pollen thing?" Jack said, his tone teasing, but his face was completely serious. Daniel just shook his head and bit back a laugh.

"Pretty sure that's not what Janet called it. Pretty sure the pollen's also completely worn off considering I'm not glowing anym-..." Daniel's words were swallowed in another kiss, and he was quite happy to let it happen just this once. "Interesting. I start babbling, and you start kissing," he said after Jack pulled back from the kiss. He grinned just a little and only briefly before Jack gave him a mock stern look.

"We need to talk," he reminded Daniel.

It was Daniel's turn to lean over, mutter, "Later," just before covering Jack's mouth with his own.  


**Author's Note:**

> Not mine. MGM owns them.


End file.
